Let's just say "I know a gal" who was fired from a company in the Valley because of that very discrimination. She had a master's degree and had been at the company almost 1+ year when she discovered that than the guy she was training, a dropout art school student whose "industry experience" amounted to working at Home Depot as a cashier was earning more. When my friend asked for equal pay for equal work, citing Obama's signing of Lily Ledbetter, her employers cut her salary to hourly, started writing her up for even the most minor infraction, and eventually ended up firing her. From what she tells me, she was unable to afford legal representation, Silicon Valley attorneys literally laughed at her (said they would not take the case for free), so she ended up signing a stack of legal mumbo jumbo that literally raped her of all her legal rights.
> "It's very hard to take this story at face value."
Why? Because it disproves your world view? Because it makes you uncomfortable to acknowledge that this kind of shit can (and does) happen in an industry you like to idolize?
This story is outrageous, but entirely in line with many other, very similar stories I’ve heard personally by various women. Men reacting dishearteningly poorly to women raising the issue of mistreatment is A Thing™. A COMMON thing, even. Yes, even in our industry.
Hey, pretty funny that KuraFire is a nym for Faruk Ateş, but you responded to me as KuraFire not as Faruk Ateş. Since my criticism goes to Faruk Ates, in the interest of full disclosure you probably should have told us who you were.
Uh, dude. I very clearly, openly and publicly use KuraFire as my nickname, everywhere in conjunction with my real name, Faruk Ateş. I wasn’t trying to hide anything _on purpose_. By posting as myself, I told you who I was. Blame Hacker News’ awful design if you think I was trying to hide my author-ship.
Let's just say "I know a gal" who was fired from a company in the Valley because of that very discrimination. She had a master's degree and had been at the company almost 1+ year when she discovered that than the guy she was training, a dropout art school student whose "industry experience" amounted to working at Home Depot as a cashier was earning more. When my friend asked for equal pay for equal work, citing Obama's signing of Lily Ledbetter, her employers cut her salary to hourly, started writing her up for even the most minor infraction, and eventually ended up firing her. From what she tells me, she was unable to afford legal representation, Silicon Valley attorneys literally laughed at her (said they would not take the case for free), so she ended up signing a stack of legal mumbo jumbo that literally raped her of all her legal rights.
Think of the actions that are alleged to have taken place.
What are the motivations of these actions? How does the villain profit by those actions?
Why would an employer pay a long time employee with a Masters degree less than a new hire with no experience, and then prefer to fire her rather than bring her salary up to par.
When given evidence of this unfairness, especially in light of Lilly Ledbetter as well as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, why is it that there were no attorneys willing to take this case.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and the story is entirely OUT of line with what we know of the behaviors of lawyers as well as the behavior of modern HR departments or CEOs or managers.
Because it makes you uncomfortable to acknowledge that this kind of shit can (and does) happen in an industry you like to idolize?
So now you're speculating, and actually being pretty insulting, about my inner states of mind in at least two regards.
Since you don't know me, you might find it less insulting, more productive, and more persuasive to stick to fact based questioning:
1) Show the claim is rather common and not extraordinary
2) Provide motives for this behavior to occur
3) Provide reasoning why lawyers wouldn't take this case in a heartbeat.
It's very hard to take this story at face value.